Leadership and Group Dynamics

Leadership Notes

Leadership and Group Dynamics

The term “group dynamics” was coined in the early 1940s by Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist. It refers to the roles and behaviors that people take on when they work in a group. As leaders, it is our role to realize how the group is operating and to make sure that we have the correct people working together.

When we have positive group activity, projects get done effectively. The group begins to build on itself, and each participant enhances the other team members.

When the group is not working well together, it is up to us, as leaders, to analyze the group dynamics and fix the problem. There can be several reasons that teams go awry. If you find that one person is overly critical of another’s ideas, it will cause other group members to be less willing to share their thoughts. This will disrupt the workings of the team, and projects will become stagnant and unaccomplished.

So, what traits can lead to poor group dynamics?

1. Weak leadership If the appointed leader is not properly equipped to lead, the result may be a lack of direction in the group with the team not focusing on the right priorities. This can also lead to infighting between team members.

2. Disruptions from team members We have all seen this too many times, where no matter what idea is brought up, there is someone on the team that will disagree with everything or be extremely critical of others in the group, so that no consensus is ever achieved.

3. Apprehension If team members feel that they are being judged harshly by others in the group, the result will be a lack of communications within the team. They hold back and will not share their opinions.

So how do we combat these issues? As leaders, it is our job to “know our team,” their plusses and minuses. We need to guide them and help develop them without micromanaging them. We need to tackle problems as soon as we see them. We need to act quickly to curb a behavior we are seeing that is negatively impacting the team and, at the same time, provide feedback to the person impacting the team.

The use of team-building exercises will also help to develop the team and give everyone a chance to get to know one another. Share the lessons that you have learned. This will show that you care about the team and want them to be successful.

Also help the team understand the roles and responsibilities of each team mem-

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ber. Help them work to their strengths, so that each member will be successful and want to share his thoughts and ideas.

Finally, focus on the communications. Open communication is central to a good team dynamic. Be as clear as possible with the message. Paint the picture and get the group’s buy in. Once everyone is on the same page, the group can move forward. Communicate any changes to the project or status so that the team can move in the right direction.

This is part of the York Rite Leadership 201 curriculum. In the course, we also investigate effective ways to get our organizations active. We look at what our members value and why they join. Many new members have predisposed ideas of what they believe Masonry is and what it has to offer. It is our job as leaders to learn what their values are and what their idea of the fraternity is. By fulfilling their values and beliefs we can make them active members who will participate in our labors. If we do not fulfill their values, they will just become dues paying members and will not participate in our activities. An example of this would be esoteric masonry. If that is what a new brother is expecting, then we as leaders have to offer those types of lessons to keep them engaged. As leaders we must have varying programs that appeal to the values of all our members to keep them all engaged and active.

If you want to learn more about leadership principles, join the York Rite Leadership Training Program. Visit the website at YorkRiteLeadership.org for more information and to register for the program.

Sir Knight Charles D. O’Neill York Rite Leadership Faculty

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